


Mein Schatz

by fraufi666



Series: Mein Schatz [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Brother/Brother Incest, Hansel and Gretel - Freeform, History, Human Names, M/M, Magic, Male Slash, One-Sided Attraction, Romance, Suspense, Unrequited Love, Violence, Witchcraft, antiques
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-11
Updated: 2014-09-11
Packaged: 2018-02-16 23:51:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2289287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fraufi666/pseuds/fraufi666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prussia has always been interested in antiques or any old artefacts, which remind him of the kingdom he used to rule. Yet a visit to an antique store quickly changes from harmless curiousity into a dangerous ordeal as the old shopkeeper falls for the albino. Will Germany be able to rescue his brother in time, or will he also become a victim of a wicked obsession?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mein Schatz

**Author's Note:**

> A dear friend gave me the idea for this story, so I dedicate it to her and to the other fans of Germancest. ^^

"Gott verdammt, Gilbert. Would you please hurry up so we can get home soon?" Ludwig cursed.

The Prussian lingered for a while, enjoying the clear agitation on his brother’s face “Oh West. Can’t we just look at one of the stores? It’s a shame to go shopping just for necessities and then return home. Why don’t we have some fun?” He took the blond’s hand gently, which was still clinging onto the grocery bags. Ludwig blushed and quickly drew away, the bag almost slipping out of his hand. 

"Nein! Gilbert! Not right now. You’re going to make me drop these things. They cost a lot of money, you know."

Gilbert smirked “Oh now you sound like that pompous pianist. It was a bad idea that he had spent so much time with you. Now he’s influenced you to be stingy as well.”

"It is important that we are careful with our savings. Money is something that we earn with hard work. It’s no good to just waste all those precious hours of hard work."

"Ja, ja." Gilbert drawled, rolling his eyes. He continued to walk with the German until some old-fashioned script caught his eye. 

Antiquitäten

The words had looked so out of place compared to the minimalistic letterheads and signage of the majority of the shops in the city centre. But the unusual had always interested the albino and had reminded him of the old days; back when he was still in charge of the Prussian Kingdom. It was so rare to see such a thing in the modern street of Berlin. 

"West! Please. Let’s go in here first before we go home." Gilbert pleaded, pointing at the sign. 

"Gilbert I-"

"Bitte?" The Prussian’s eyes were intent on him, preventing him from walking any further. As much as Ludwig had wanted to go into the car and drive home, he could not turn away from his brother’s gaze. Gilbert always had a way of convincing him.

"Oh..Alright then." Ludwig muttered crossly. He tiredly followed the enthusiastic albino into the store, his hands aching from carrying the groceries so much. 

Gilbert spun around “Are you sure that you don’t want me to help you carry one of those?” 

"I’ll be fine." Ludwig answered shortly. "Let’s just check in here briefly and go home." The last thing he needed was for Gilbert to get too excited and drop the groceries. The Prussian had a habit for being clumsy when he was in such a good mood. 

When they walked inside, the first thing that Gilbert noticed was how large the store was. From outside, it had seemed so small, yet as they took a few more steps, the room seemed to expand greatly in size. Expensive pieces of baroque furniture sat neatly around shelves which were filled with rare and highly decorative trinkets. To one side was a shelf filled with chocolate pots with paintings of famous emperors and empresses. Despite being authentic, they seemed to be of such mint condition. Everything was hand-painted and delicately crafted in porcelain. Gilbert gazed in awe at all of the artefacts, wondering why he had not ever seen anything like this before. 

"West! West!" Gilbert was holding onto one of the teacups, which had a picture of a young woman’s face on it. "Isn’t this beautiful?"

Ludwig nodded tiredly “Ja, Gilbert. It is very nice. But we need to leave soon.”

"Aw, can we buy this, Ludwig..Please?"

The German crossed his arms, avoiding the Prussian’s eyes, in fear of being persuaded by him once more. “We already have enough antiques. I don’t want you to be spending money on these expensive things anyway.” 

"Oh come on, West." Gilbert was now standing in front of the German. He took the man’s face into his hands, forcing him to stare into his eyes. "Please? It would mean so much to me…Won’t you at least consider it?"

Ludwig shook his head fiercely, trying not to succumb. “No way.” He answered sternly. “You’ll just get obsessed with buying more. You already have so many of these old things anyway.”

Gilbert pouted “Have it your way then.” He said stubbornly. “Because I’ll buy it myself!” 

"The money will be coming out of our joint account. Do you really think that is necessary? Enschuldigung, Gilbert…But I will not let you expand on your obsession. Now let’s go."

The Prussian looked back at the teacup. The woman’s cornflower blue eyes stared at him longingly; framed by long, fair hair that was neatly combed back. It was as if she had wanted to be owned by Gilbert, and the Prussian could not bring himself to put it down. He had seemed to grow attached to the young woman. Roses grew around her, emphasising her classical beauty. 

"Oh…Ludwig. Doesn’t she look beautiful?" Gilbert sighed, "She has eyes like yours." Saying this, he held the cup next to the blond’s face, comparing the two. Ludwig frowned, still unconvinced.

"We could be related to her, you know. Isn’t that awesome? Maybe it is our distant relative!"

"Gilbert..Many Germans have blue eyes." Ludwig explained impatiently "It doesn’t mean that we are related to every single one of them." 

The older man was getting desperate “Okay, she looks hot then.” He grinned “Like you.” He ran a finger over Ludwig’s lips, causing the other to turn red.

"G-Gilbert. This is not a good time for this." Ludwig was getting flustered at the other’s action "We have to go home now." With that, he turned away and was heading out of the door. "Schnell!"

As he said this, there was a distinct creak from nearby. The two brothers looked up to see an old woman walking down the stairs. She smiled at each one warmly. 

"Guten Abend, meine Herren." The woman greeted formally. "Kann ich Ihnen Helfen?" 

"Oh…Ich schaue mich nur um." Gilbert answered, with just as much politeness. 

"Nein. We are leaving." Ludwig corrected. "Das ist mir zu Teuer!" He said angrily at Gilbert, as he took one look at the price tag of the teacup. "Tschüß." 

"Wait!" Gilbert said. But the German was already walking out, making his way to the car. The albino stuck his tongue out at his turned back and focused his attention on the woman once more. "I’d like to purchase this." He said to her. "Es ist schön." 

The woman smiled, stretching the wrinkles on the sides of her mouth. She took the cup from him. “This is a fine antique. You obviously have a good eye for beauty. Not many young men would be as interested in such things.”

The Prussian chuckled, flattered by the compliment “Danke, Fräulein.” He said, not even bothering to point out that he was not as young as she thought he was. 

"I once knew that woman. Quite lovely, isn’t she? Do you have a nice woman yourself?" She gazed into the man’s scarlet eyes warmly, as if they were really close friends. Although such a question had seemed too personal to be asked from a stranger, he had felt comfortable enough to reply to her. 

"Oh, I’ve been with many women." Gilbert bragged, enjoying the flattery "But now, I live with my brother."

"Was that the gentleman who had walked out?" The old woman inquired, "It didn’t look like he had appreciated my wares."

"Haha, he’s just boring." The Prussian scoffed "He doesn’t understand art as much as I do." He took a proper look at the woman, who was wearing a long, black gown, which was just as old as she was. Her white hair was swept up into a bun. Skin cracked under the heavy foundation that she had painted over her face, like a mask. For a moment, Gilbert wondered how she would have looked as a young woman. She was probably beautiful once. But that was a long time ago. He looked back at the cup.

"I’d like to buy her..But maybe if you gave me a discount."

The woman laughed “Oh no. I couldn’t possibly do that.” She said “I’m sorry, but for an antique like this, it would be a shame to give her away for such little money.” But as she said this, she looked back at the young man. “You know, I haven’t had a customer in the store for twenty-five years.” She said miserably “Let alone, a customer who is so young.” She looked at the tall, pale Prussian, silently appreciating his profile. It seemed as if she had taken a liking to him already. 

"How about if you sleep on it, and then come back tomorrow?" The woman suggested taking the teacup from him and putting it back on the shelf. Gilbert looked disappointed to see it go, but he grinned anyway, pleased with the advice. 

"That sounds like a good idea!" He said, "I’ll do that. Well, nice to meet you, Frau-"

"Frau Augustine." The woman finished "And you are?"

"Gilbert Beilschmidt." The Prussian answered proudly. 

As soon as she had heard the name, she had stiffened slightly. “Oh mein gott…” She gasped.

"What’s wrong?" Gilbert asked in concern.

"Oh, it’s just that…I have heard that name from somewhere. It sounds so familiar. But I…" She trailed off and stared into space, before meeting Gilbert’s eyes once more.

"It’s okay." She reassured him, "I’m just getting old." With that, she patted him on the head, her lips curled in a sad smile. "So young." She sighed. With that, she walked back upstairs, disappearing behind a pile of books. 

Gilbert walked out of the antique store, puzzled by the woman’s reaction. Nevertheless, he walked back to the car contently, knowing that he was welcome for another visit. He climbed inside beside Ludwig, who was napping at the driver’s seat. Instinctively, he ran his hand against Ludwig’s chest, causing the German to groan appreciatively in his sleep. Then, he was leaning over him, kissing him passionately on the mouth.

Ludwig woke up with a start. He quickly straightened in his seat, embarrassed by the kiss. Glancing outside, he could see a couple of people laughing and pointing at the couple. 

"Scheiße, Gilbert!" Ludwig grumbled at the albino "I told you to wait until we get home." He started the car and drove away quickly, hoping that the people were not going to recognise him. "What if they were colleagues from work?!" He shouted, fear rising in his voice "Then they will-"

"…Then they will see how much we love each other.." Gilbert finished smugly "Come on, I know you liked it. Besides, we were too far away for them to see our faces properly." 

Ludwig sighed, keeping his eyes on the road as he turned the steering wheel “I know…” He responded sheepishly. 

"So…" Gilbert began, eyeing the German eagerly "I’m going back to the store tomorrow."

"Don’t be ridiculous." Ludwig snapped, "It’s too expensive. Plus, that place gives me the creeps."

"You’re just too young to understand." Gilbert smirked "It has my history in there, Ludwig. Everything from my kingdom. I thought that it was all destroyed in the war." His tone began somber as he looked down. "Even if I just had that one tea cup, I would feel content again, as if one part of Prussia is still alive with me."

Ludwig looked back at the Prussian, feeling sorry for him. Despite his disagreement, he knew how important the kingdom was to his brother. Objects from that time were certainly not easy to come by nowadays. 

"Well..I guess it won’t hurt if we paid another visit. But I have work tomorrow, so you’ll have to go there alone."

"That’s fine by me." Gilbert beamed. "Thank you so much! I knew you would understand me, bruder." He threw his arms around the German affectionately, until the car took a sharp turn.

"Gilbert!! Please! I’m trying to drive here." Ludwig shouted, desperately trying to steady the vehicle. Gilbert laughed for a bit at the German’s furious expression.

"Oops!" He giggled. He quickly planted a kiss on the other man’s cheek, before leaving him alone. 

As he drove, a small smile appeared on Ludwig’s mouth. It made him content to see his brother so cheerful. Even though he had despised his brother’s interests in strange, old objects, he did not want to deny him from enjoying the artefacts from a kingdom that he had stood for many years ago. Once they had arrived home, Ludwig quickly put away all of the groceries before turning his attention to his brother once more.

"…Bruder.." He asked shyly, approaching Gilbert hesitantly "Can we pick up where we left off?"

The albino grinned and took the blond into his arms “I thought that you would never ask.” He said, stroking him on the cheek. Swiftly, he took off his clothes. “Go on,” Gilbert beckoned “You want this too, don’t you?”

"Shouldn’t we go upstairs?" Ludwig asked worriedly, looking around as if there were spies surrounding them.

"Pffft. Who’s going to see us. We’re at home now. I want to do this here. With you. Right now." 

"R-right…Now?" Ludwig stammered. As he said this, Gilbert was already unbuttoning his shirt. Leaning closer, he kissed him hard on the mouth, stroking his chest as he did so. Ludwig groaned, shutting his eyes. The Prussian slowly made his way lower, pulling off the German’s trousers with a struggle. Ludwig grabbed at the other’s face, kissing him so hard that Gilbert’s lip bled. Noticing the blood, Ludwig drew away, horrified. "Oh Gott. I’m so sorry."

Gilbert licked the blood away calmly “It’s fine..” He answered before pushing the German onto the floor “I love it when you get all feisty like that…” He added huskily in his ear. But even after the blood was gone, he continued to run his tongue against his lips seductively, watching the other’s arousal. While Ludwig was too busy watching the Prussian teasing him with his mouth, he was pinned down roughly. Gilbert climbed on top of him, running his hands over him. As he did this, Ludwig fondled the Prussian simultaneously, moaning as Gilbert’s actions intensified. They continued this way for a while, until with loud groans, they both came together, embracing each other on the floor. They kissed again tenderly, before getting up and heading off to bed. 

After such an intense night, Gilbert awoke in an empty bed. The late morning sun shone in his eyes strongly, almost blinding him. Quickly, he climbed out, wrapping himself up in a blanket as he walked downstairs. The kitchen was empty, although Ludwig had left some toast out with a glass of orange juice. Attached to the glass was a note. In hasty, but legible handwriting the young German wrote:

Liebe Bruder,

By the time you read this, I would have already gone out to work. You looked so cute sleeping that I didn’t want to wake you…. Anyway, the car keys are in the usual spot. Take good care of the Volkswagen. I do not want any of your daredevil antics like last time. And also, don’t get too carried away in the antique store. We still need to save money, okay? 

Take care, and don’t come home too late. 

Grüße, 

Ludwig. 

Gilbert chuckled to himself, folding up the letter and leaving it on the table. “Ja, ja West. Whatever you say.” He went straight to devouring his breakfast, lazily leaving the plate in the sink without even washing it. He then walked back upstairs to get dressed.

Once in the car, he went through the CDs that were in the rack, deciding what to listen to, as well as judging Ludwig’s taste.

"Beethoven?! Why would I want to listen to awful music like that? I already hear enough of it from that stingy Austrian.” After much fussing, he drew out another CD which was more to his liking. 

Rammstein: Liebe ist für alle da.

"Ahhh…That’s more like it." Gilbert sighed, turning the music up at full volume. He reversed out of the driveway, taking care to avoid bumping into the tree like last time. When on the road, he pulled down the windows, singing loudly to the music and ignoring the shaking heads of the businessmen who were driving nearby. The wind brew his hair through the open window and Gilbert immediately felt relaxed, enjoying the pleasant sunshine that was illuminating the autobahn. 

When he had parked the car and walked into the antique store, he was surprised to see that Frau Augustine was standing near the window, awaiting his arrival.

"Ah, Guten morgen." She greeted, opening up the door for him. "Have you already decided?" 

"Oh yes." Gilbert grinned "I’d love to buy her." Without any hesitation, he drew out a few hundred euros and placed them on the counter.

"Oh, no need to be so hasty." The woman said, wagging her finger "Why don’t I just leave this here, and let you look at the rest of the stock? Just in case you find something else which catches your fancy."

"Sure, why not?" Gilbert replied. He was already walking around the store, taking most interest in the old-fashioned globe that was sitting near a chair. As he turned the globe towards Europe, he viewed at one of the old nations forlornly. 

Preußen 

Such a sight had saddened him, but it still brought him relief to know that it had existed somewhere in history, preserved on a dusty globe. 

"Do you have Prussian roots?" 

Gilbert turned around, realising that the old woman was watching him. He laughed slightly, trying to hide his sadness.

"Oh, something like that." He said. 

"Mm, you certainly look like you have." Frau Augustine agreed. She inspected him from head to toe, almost as if he was an artefact himself. "…Your hair.." She said slowly, reaching out to touch his strands "It’s so blond, almost platinuim. How very rare. I’ve only ever seen someone with hair this colour in a book. Did you dye it?"

"It’s my natural colour." He answered proudly. 

Frau Augustine’s pale blue eyes flitted over his figure “Your skin is so white.” She said in amazement. But after a split second, she drew back, holding a hand to her mouth as if she had said something regretful. “I’m sorry…It must be so strange for you to have an old lady looking at you like that. Forgive me.”

Gilbert placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s fine!” He said comfortingly “I’m very flattered that a woman of your calibre would take such an interest in me.” 

The woman jolted, her eyes wide in surprise “You…You really think so?” She asked in uncertainty. 

"Sure I do." Gilbert smiled. Apart from his brother, nobody else had thought of him with as much worth as she did, especially after the war. It meant a lot that there was a place where his history still held such importance to someone. "I appreciate it…" He added. 

Frau Augustine drew away behind the counter, wrapping up the teacup. “Do you want anything else as well?” She asked. 

"I’d love that globe, but it’s way too expensive for me." He said truthfully. Taking the cup away from her, he flashed another smile "Thank you all the same."

"I wish I could help you more…" The woman sighed "But you know, since hardly anyone else comes in here…You can always come back and look at the globe as many times as you like. I’ll keep it by the counter with me, just so the other customers won’t see it."

"That’s very kind of you." Gilbert answered, the smile on his face still unwavering. When Frau Augustine looked back at the smile, her head was light with dizziness. The man had such an effect on her that she could not even explain. She proceeded to walk upstairs, gripping on the banister. But as she took another step, her fingers slipped from the banister as she fell backwards. 

Gilbert caught her just in time, being careful not to injure the woman. She was rather light for her size and he could feel how small her waist was. 

"Here, take a seat." Gilbert offered, helping her to one of the coaches. He was concerned for the woman, as well as puzzled by the sudden reaction. But he could not bring himself to leave her. She seemed so vulnerable sitting alone. He sat down beside her on the coach. 

"Danke.." She responded tiredly "I apologise. I don’t think I have taken my pills today." Saying this, she reached into her pocket and produced a cylinder of medication. "I’ve been taking these for my arthritis." She explained, swallowing two of the pills. "But sometimes if I don’t take them, I get dizzy as well…You wouldn’t understand though. You have many years of good health ahead of you."

"Oh you don’t look so old for your age." Gilbert said dismissively with a wink. "I’m sure that you were quite a stunner back in the day."

Frau Augustine blushed “Oh stop it.” She said firmly “You should be wooing a beautiful young woman, not some old grouch like me.” 

Against her expectations, the albino took a hold of her hand and squeezed it. “I don’t think you’re an old grouch. You’re nice.” As soon as he said this, he planted a kiss on her cheek. 

The woman’s cheeks turned a deeper scarlet as she shyly looked back at him “Oh..You are such a gentleman, Herr Beilschmidt.” She swooned. The Prussian chuckled and stood up, picking up the bag with the teacup inside. 

"Well, I really should be heading off now." He said. “Take it easy, Fräulein." 

Frau Augustine nodded understandably, yet her old eyes seemed disappointed to see him go “Alright. Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Beilschmidt.”

"Auf Wiedersehen." He responded, giving a friendly wave. Turning around, he proceeded to walk out of the store. But just as his hand was about to touch the knob, he had frozen in his spot, unable to move. 

Come on, Gilbert. We’re going home now. Gilbert thought to himself furiously as he tried to move his hand forward. Yet his hand would not go any further, paralysed against his control. He tried to extend his fingers, yet they hurt as he did so. 

Embarrassed by his immobility, he laughed awkwardly at the female onlooker. “Oh..I can’t seem to-“

"Move?" Frau Augustine finished "Oh, there’s no need to be alarmed, it’s probably just an intense case of pins and needles. Come back to the chair." 

Just as Gilbert was about to protest about being unable to move back, he found his feet walking him back to the chair, against his conscious control.

"That’s better, isn’t it?" The old lady asked him, sitting down on the coach nearby. "My, my. You look rather pale. I think you might need something to eat and drink. When was the last time you had a proper meal?"

"I did have some toast and juice this morning." Gilbert recalled. But after a moment, he realised how long ago that was. "…I think I might be hungry again."

"Just as I thought." Frau Augustine said. "A young man like you needs something substantial to eat." She stood up and began to walk upstairs, yet Gilbert was struggling to get up to help her. With her condition of arthritis, he did not want her to strain herself.

"No, no. You stay back in your seat." The woman said firmly "Just because I am old, it does not mean I am handicapped. I’ll be back before you know it." 

Gilbert nodded reluctantly and stayed seated, just like she said. Oddly enough, he did feel slightly better this way. It felt too unnatural to stand up so quickly and even the thought of leaving the store was no longer so important to him anymore. 

After a few minutes, the old woman came downstairs with a plate of biscuits and a teapot. “I apologise…This is all I have in the kitchen upstairs.” She said meekly, handing him the plate. “I really do need to go shopping again.” 

Gilbert stared at her, puzzled that there were no teacups. But he quickly opened the bag to unwrap the teacup that he had just bought. “Looks like this can come in handy then.” Gilbert said, not wanting to embarrass the old woman.

Frau Augustine gave a small smile and filled his cup to the brim. “There you go, my dear. Now drink up. You will feel better in no time.” 

The Prussian followed her orders and bit into one of the biscuits. It tasted rather sweet, the texture fluffy and light. He licked his lips, savouring the taste. “Wow, this is delicious!” He exclaimed. She signalled him to eat another, to, which he gladly obeyed. Then, he washed down the biscuit with the tea, which had tasted like a bunch of ripe strawberries. It was nothing like what he had drank before. He wasn’t a big tea drinker, but it did taste a lot better than the tea that Roderich had offered him during his visits in Austria. 

"Sehr gut!" remarked the albino, after he had finished his tea. "I think that you make the best tea I’ve ever tasted." 

Blue eyes shining, the woman refilled his cup. “Oh, vielen dank. You are too kind.” She said. “Now, are you feeling better to go home now?”

Gilbert stared at her blankly. Home? He felt as if he had not explored the antique store nearly as much as he would have liked to. Ludwig was at work all day. What good would it be if he were to go straight back home to an empty home with nothing to do?

"Oh..I’d like to stay and look around more, actually." Gilbert answered. "By the way. Thank you for the tea, Großmutter."

Frau Augustine paused. “What did you call me?” Her usually quiet voice was raised at a volume that made the other feel uncomfortable. 

The Prussian looked down, worried that he might have offended her “Uh..I called you Großmutter…You are pretty much like a grandmother to me, aren’t you? 

"Oh, yes. Of course." Frau Augustine replied, her voice still strained. She grabbed the teacup and the plate roughly and walked away quickly. Something in her tone indicated anger and Gilbert felt guilty for making her feel this way.

"Are you okay?" He asked at her.

The woman turned around to face him, a smile on her face. “Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Gilbert shrugged, realising that there was nothing to worry about. “I was just wondering, that’s all.” He answered weakly, surprised by the sudden change in mood. By the time the man had finished his next cup of tea, he was suddenly too excited by the antiques in the store to leave. He was feeling more energised now, his interest in the wares overwhelming.

"Wow!" He gasped, looking at some of the aristocratic costumes of the Habsburg family. "Are these real?" 

"Every thread." The woman responded. "But you might find this more to your taste." Saying this, she walked down to one of the shelves nearby and took out a large chest. Reaching into her collar, she drew out a golden key and unlocked it without much difficulty. Then, with great strength for an elderly woman, she lifted the lid, revealing to her customer what was inside. 

A Prussian uniform was folded neatly in the chest, white trousers pressed neatly without a single crease or stain. A deep blue coat sat nearby, along with a sash and a black-feathered hat. Gilbert’s eyes widened as he looked at the uniform. The sight had brought him some nostalgia and as he closed his eyes, he could remember his own exploits out on the battlefield from so many years ago.

"Is there something wrong?" Frau Augustine asked in concern. Gilbert opened his eyes back to reality and shook his head.

"Oh, it’s fine. It’s just that…It’s so well preserved." But seeing how warm her gaze was, he finally confessed something about himself. "Actually, it feels like I’ve worn something like this in another life, as crazy as that sounds." He laughed to himself, but the woman remained silent, taking in every word.

"Well, if you really like it so much, why don’t you try it on?" 

Gilbert’s jaw dropped, as he turned back to the woman, unable to believe her words “I’m allowed to do that?” He asked in amazement. 

"This is my store, so you have every right." The woman said firmly "Now go behind that curtain and put it on." 

The Prussian picked up the garments and changed behind the velvet curtain, just as she had recommended. He was surprised to see how easy the coat had slipped over his form and how pristine the buttons were. There was not even a loose thread in sight. But he still had some trouble buttoning the red cuffs properly and had to walk out for assistance.

He lifted the curtain and saw Frau Augustine look at him in utmost awe. He indicated to his cuffs to which she immediately buttoned for him. Gently, she fixed the white sash over him and then placed the hat over his white hair. 

"Well…You’re a sight for sore eyes." She said, stepping back. "You look as pretty as a picture." 

Gilbert smiled, enjoying the compliments “Danke Schön.” He responded. She led him to the full-length mirror on the side of the room where he admired his reflection.

He looked exactly like how he used to many years ago. The sight was so surreal, that he had to continually remind himself that he was in the present time, trying on an old uniform. But the appearance was just so breathtaking that he could not help thinking that he had gone back in time. 

"You look so handsome." Frau Augustine said to his ear as she stood behind him. He could see her wrinkled face admire him in the reflection, her hands resting on his shoulders. "And very much like someone I used to read about many years ago. I can’t find the book, but you really do have a striking resemblance to that gentleman."

"Well, maybe it was me that you had read about." Gilbert chuckled, looking at himself from all different angles. He could not understand how the uniform had fitted him so well. It certainly couldn’t have been the uniform he once wore before, for it was already damaged and badly ripped from the war. 

"Oh…" Frau Augustine sighed, turning away suddenly. Tears filled her eyes and she struggled to blink them away. 

"What’s wrong?" Gilbert asked, turning away from the mirror. He held her shoulders gently, trying to comfort her. "If this upsets you so much, I can always take it off."

"No, no. It’s fine." Frau Augustine whispered "I just…I…." Before she could say anything else, she had broke away from his embrace and was sobbing in the corner, next to all the old crockery. 

"Fräulein…I’m sorry." Gilbert apologised quietly. He looked back at his reflection, when suddenly a thought came to mind. Perhaps she had a husband who had once dressed this way before. He was torn between taking off the uniform to relieve her from her distress, to keeping it on to remind himself of his past victory. Standing awkwardly in one spot, he was unable to decide. 

Around him, the room darkened. Noticing this, he began to feel disorientated. How long did he stay in the store for? He wanted to go back to the curtain to change back to his usual clothes, but the same paralysed feeling had cursed his body once more. 

The woman turned back to him “You probably should rest. Go back to the couch and lie down. Don’t worry about the clothes.” She reassured him. 

But her voice seemed so distant to him. The room began to sway as if he was aboard a ship that was sailing through rough seas. He felt ill, clutching a hand over his mouth…But as he tried to move his feet forward, he remained glued to the same position. 

"Gilbert?"

The room had spun faster and faster until he could feel the floor giving way to him. Before he could turn back to reply to the woman, he had felt the floor swallow him up whole, until it was only darkness which had accompanied him. 

But even though he had felt that he was falling alone, he could feel a hand touching his face, another pressed against his chest intimately. 

You will be alright…You’ll see..

 

After a long, hard day of work, the younger Beilschmidt brother had just arrived home to an empty house. 

"Gilbert?" He called, hoping to see an enthusiastic albino running towards him "Are you here?" 

Silence. 

Confused, Ludwig began to search through all the rooms for the Prussian. “Gilbert?” His voice was higher in desperation “Gilbert, don’t be a dummkopf and come out here at once!” 

As he went into the kitchen for the second time, he noticed the plate in the sink and the half-folded note beside the empty glass that Gilbert had left behind. Slowly, he picked up the note, realising that the Prussian must have read his message. After going into the hallway, he swore under his breath as he finally noticed something that did not cross his mind before. 

The key to the Volkswagen was missing from its hook. 

A worrying thought crossed Ludwig’s mind. Gilbert must have still been out. Probably at the antique store, without a doubt. Thinking quickly, Ludwig put on his coat and got back in the car, driving almost recklessly down the road and into the autobahn. Usually the German would never behave in such an erratic manner, yet given the unusual circumstances; he was far too desperate for Gilbert’s safety to pay attention to road rules. In the rear view mirror, he could see the sun setting behind the trees, as the air around him grew colder. He shivered inside his coat and turned up the heater. 

Just as he had predicted, the Volkswagen was still parked near the antique store, a driving ticket stuck behind the windscreen wiper. Ludwig sighed and took the ticket. For the first time, he was not as concerned for Gilbert’s treatment of the car. There was something far more important at hand. He parked his car nearby and walked over to the antique store. 

Despite the door being locked and lights off, Ludwig knocked on the door furiously, his heart pounding. Even if the store had looked closed, he could not possibly think of any other place where Gilbert would have been in. 

"Mach die Tür auf!" The blond shouted, knocking the door loudly. He did not even care if anyone else was going to hear him. Gilbert was his only priority. "Sofort!" 

Through the window, he could see a figure walking slowly downstairs. Frau Augustine yawned and glared at the German. 

"We are closed." She snapped, pointing at the sign on the door "Can’t you see how late it is?"

"Where is my brother?" Ludwig demanded, getting straight to the point, "What have you done to him?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Frau Augustine responded. 

"Gott verdammt, woman." Ludwig growled, his azure eyes flashing angrily "You know exactly what I am talking about. He went in here today, didn’t he? You better let me in, or I swear to-"

"There’s no need to get violent with me, young man." Frau Augustine scolded, "If you keep on screaming accusations like that, I’ll call the police. Now would you please leave an old woman in peace?" 

Ludwig clenched his fists, yet he took a deep breath, realising that he was not going to get anywhere like this. The last thing he needed was to be sent to the police station while his brother was still missing. He exhaled. 

"I’ll be back." He said threateningly, keeping his eyes on her wrinkled face. "And you better not harm him while I’m gone." 

"Good." She said sarcastically "Glad to see that you have finally come to your senses. Good evening, Herr Beilschmidt." 

Ludwig ignored the woman as he walked back to the car, a sense of hopelessness clouding over him. He did not want to wait until tomorrow. He did not even want to go home. But he was tired. It was getting late anyway, and he needed some time to think properly. Nothing made sense to him. At least not yet anyway. Reluctantly, he reversed the car from the parking lot and made his way back home. 

For the rest of the night, Ludwig tossed and turned, filled with too much worry and regret to sleep properly. They were the longest and most dreadful hours of his life. 

 

Meanwhile Gilbert had awoken in the dark. He had no idea where he was, and when he tried to get up, a voice from somewhere in front of him hushed him.

"Lie back down, my dear. You’ve had quite a shock. Don’t worry. You’ll feel better in no time."

"Where am I?" Gilbert asked out loud. The last thing he remembered was trying on an old Prussian uniform, but when he removed the blanket and checked himself with his hands, he realised that he was no longer wearing it. 

Or anything else for that matter. 

The albino shivered, clutching the blanket around his naked form tighter “What’s going on?” He asked the usual confidence in his voice replaced by a trembling fear “W-where are my clothes?” 

To his relief, a small light came close to his face. Frau Augustine was standing near his bed, holding a candle. 

"Please, there is no need to be alarmed." The woman said softly, touching the man’s face. "You have been rather ill. I had to remove your clothes or it would have been too hot for you." She leaned in close, a little bit too close for comfort. "Your poor brother has been worried for you too, you know. Wondering where you are."

"Ludwig stopped by?" Gilbert was shocked at the words "Is he here? Can you bring him to me?"

Frau Augustine shook her head. “Why would I do that for? He doesn’t care about this store.”

The Prussian looked puzzled.

"You still don’t understand.” The woman sighed, her old eyes staring into his scarlet ones “Don’t you remember what you said to me yesterday? When we were talking, you said that he doesn’t understand art as much as you do. Isn’t that correct.”

Gilbert nodded gravely, recognising his own words “Yes, that is true. But I don’t understand what this has to do with him not being here.”

The old woman ran a hand through his hair, smiling at him, as a patient teacher would to a troubled student “He is not one of us.” She said slowly. “He does not approve of antiques or of the things that interest you…. Things that have a significance to your history.”

Saying this, she picked up a book beside her that he had not even noticed before. On the cover, he could see a faint illustration of a group of soldiers on horseback, dressed in the same Prussian uniforms as the one he had tried on. But it was only when he had glanced at the face of the central figure that his heart had almost stopped. 

He was staring at a drawing of himself. 

"Do you see now?" Frau Augustine’s voice whispered, "This was the book I had told you about. The story about your exploits and adventures." She stood up suddenly and cradled it in her arms like a new born baby "I had always loved reading this book when I was a little girl. I even made a deal with myself to marry the man who was on the cover…He was the only one who could really sweep me off my feet." 

Gilbert’s eyes widened in horror, staring at the woman as if she was deranged. “That was…that was a long time ago.” He said quickly, trying to save himself. “How could I have existed back then?”’ 

"Come on, Gilbert…" Frau Augustine said, sitting down on the bed beside him "You can’t fool me. I know I’m old, but I’m not stupid." Saying this, she reached down to stroke his face "You and I both know that this is not true. On the day when you first came into my antique store, that was when fate had brought us together. We were destined to meet again.” 

The albino chuckled nervously, trying to cover his body up even more “That’s a great joke.” He said, “For someone your age, you seem to have a wonderful sense of humour.”

Frau Augustine flashed a smile, yet it did not last for very long. In an instant, she had ripped the blanket off him, revealing his naked body. 

"What was it that you called me? Großmutter. What kind of sick joke was that? Did you really think that I would have taken that lightly? I am your lover. What gives you the right to call me that?!”

"I-I didn’t know…I’m sorry." Gilbert stammered, "Please, can we just move past this? I did not mean to hurt your feelings."

"We can’t move past this." She said firmly, "…Because you and I are one." Her hands brushed against his pale torso, making their way down to his belly "I have been waiting too long for you. Now I don’t want you to ever leave me again. Do you understand that?"

Gilbert shook “No…No.” He gasped, “This is wrong. I did not mean to give you the wrong impression…but we are not together.” Saying this, he pulled himself away from her grasp. “I need my clothes back. Bitte, Fräulein?” He held his hand out, which only enhanced his vulnerability even more “Bitte…I’ll leave and I won’t say anything about this to anyone.”

For a moment, the woman stood still. Her face seemed understanding as she listened to his words and Gilbert thought that she was going to go and retrieve his clothes, but she tilted back her head and cackled.

"You’re a fool.” She insulted, eyes shining manically. “I should have known that your pretty face and smart mouth were your only positive attributes…But I just can’t help the way I feel about you.” 

Before Gilbert could have a chance to walk away, the woman had leapt onto him, pushing him against the wall. 

"Why are you trying to leave for? Do you have a pretty Fräulein waiting for you? Someone who wants to save you?" But her wrinkled face twitched as a realisation came to her. 

She raised a finger “No…I know. I should have guessed! You want to run to your dear bruder…don’t you?” She pushed a hand to his chest “You really love him so much…I can see it in your eyes…You love him so badly.” She continued to caress him. Goosebumps prickled his skin as he shivered to her touch “Does he make you shiver like the way I make you shiver?” Her voice sounded high-pitched and vicious. It was no longer the same formal and reassuring tone of Frau Augustine. Gilbert continued to shake, until his face was met with a harsh slap.

"Why do you keep ignoring me, dear? You shouldn’t be ignoring your true lover. I want you to answer me. Do you love your brother, you sick, incestuous schwein? ANSWER ME!” 

"YES!" Gilbert shouted. But he turned red in shame, as the word had flown out of his mouth. He could never take it back. 

"Just as I thought." She said cruelly, gripping his arm tightly. She twisted it with such force that Gilbert cried out loud in pain. It was unusual for an old woman to have so much strength. "You disgust me." Saying this, she kicked him straight into the stomach with her boot. Gilbert doubled over, coughing and aching. 

But she was not done yet. When he had just got up to his feet again, she had thrown a punch to his face, knocking him down once more. He could taste the blood in his mouth as crimson dripped from his nose. 

"That is what you get for cheating on your lover!" She retorted, pointing a bony finger at him, "I had waited so many years for you, just to discover that you have been lusting after your own brother. I don’t even know why I care for you so much! You schwein!" Frau Augustine spun around and marched back into the shadows, leaving the candle behind. But when Gilbert got up to leave the room, he felt a sudden cool draft as a door slammed in front of him. The candle blew out and he was in the darkness again. He reached up to touch the door, but his fingers gripped against the bars of what had seemed like a cage. The door was locked. 

In a mix of exhaustion and pain, he collapsed to his knees, his silver hair brushing against the bars. There was no way out for him now. 

After he had woken up, he found that he was wrapped in a blanket comfortably with a cool cloth to his face. Frau Augustine stood nearby, wringing the cloth from blood and attending to his wounds. 

"I’m sorry, my dear. I did not mean to snap at you like that. I don’t know what had came over me." 

Even though her words had sounded so sincere, Gilbert listened to them with disbelief. He was in too much pain to reply back, or to yell at her. 

"I really am sorry." She insisted, her hand on his cheek "I’m just too frightened of you leaving me. I’ve always been alone for most of my life. You’re the only person who would actually care for me." 

Gilbert tried to sit up, but he groaned as a sharp pain rose in his ribs. The woman quickly ushered him back on the bed. “Please, don’t strain yourself. Relax. You’re safe here.”

"I want to go home, Frau Augustine!" Gilbert blurted out painfully "Bitte…Let me go home." 

"I can’t do that…" Frau Augustine said sadly, as tears brimmed in her light blue eyes "You have to stay here. It’s for your own good. I’ll take good care of you, just as a wife should. And you can tell me about all your adventures in the war." 

"Let me go!"

Frau Augustine grabbed the Prussian by the jaw roughly “Don’t anger me, young man. You are really trying my patience. Do you really think that I can just let you flee? I have lost too much time with you. Don’t leave me. I’ll die lonely otherwise.”

Gilbert desperately searched her eyes for some sign of gratitude, frightened that darkness had filled the once kind old lady “Why are you doing this to me?” He cried. 

"Because I love you, mein lieber Preußischen. I’ve always loved you." After saying this, she kissed him on the lips slowly. Gilbert shook in revulsion, as he could taste the dust in her mouth and the creases of her wrinkled lips. She patted him on the face and drew away, giggling as if she were an excited schoolgirl. 

"Oh my..You are so lovely to kiss." She sighed, "So perfect…So handsome." Her hands moved down to remove his blankets. She slid beside him and embraced the albino. The black fabric of her dress scratched against him uncomfortably, yet he was unable to move away, for her arms had locked him in. "I would love to just experience one night with a dashing Prussian soldier." She added. But as she glanced back at his body, she shuddered and drew away. "But I can’t do it. Your body is too perfect for me to touch. It’s so porcelain, like an antique." 

The woman sat for a minute to ponder over what to do next to Gilbert. Finally, she stood up and gave a satisfied nod “I know just what to do with you. You will forever be my prized possession…Mein Schatz. I will keep you here for customers to see you…and everyone will discover how wonderful this store really is. I can finally get as many customers as I want. Oh I will make such a profit.” She patted him on the head “Just lie here and look beautiful and I’ll come back with some food. I do not want my prized possession to be a skeleton.” The old lady stood up, took away the basin and the cloth and walked out of the cage, locking the door behind her. 

Over the course of the next few minutes, Gilbert drifted in and out of conciousness. While he lay, he could feel a hand..no, many hands, crawling over his body like spiders. The numerous hairs on the skinny legs would tickle his neck and prod his ribs, even to the point when he could feel his flesh being punctured by the sharp feet. He gasped in pain, yet as he did so, a series of spidery feet trailed into his mouth. Sputtering, he spat out the spiders yet all that had fallen from his mouth was nothing but dust. He fell back to sleep a while later, where a series of high-pitched voices vibrated in his ears, screaming one phrase and one phrase only. He could feel his ears getting sore from all the screams, yet despite his best efforts of blocking them out, they continued to penetrate his mind. 

Mein Schatz, mein Schatz…Mein Schatz! 

 

Ludwig woke up, panting in a sweat. The last thing he could hear was Gilbert screaming and he quickly remembered that he had to go back to the antique store. He dressed briskly and called in sick for work. It was difficult to tell how long it would take to find Gilbert, but he could not risk leaving him for another day. Under his breath, he cursed. Perhaps if he had resisted against Frau Augustine, he might have saved Gilbert last night. But given the circumstances, he knew that it would have been impossible. 

As he drove through the street, the voices from this morning’s conversation with his work colleague on the phone replayed with crisp detail in his head. 

"Herr Beilschmidt? Is everything okay?"

"I can’t talk right now, Hans…I’m not well. Can you please tell the manager?"

Hans remained unconvinced “You’re not really sick, are you? You’re worried. Tell me what’s wrong, Ludwig. Are you in trouble? Maybe I can be of help. I won’t say anything to anyone.”

Ludwig gave a loud sigh of frustration. Now was not the right time to let his emotions run loose. It was too dangerous to get more people involved. He still needed to keep his dignity. “Can you please just tell the manager, okay? This is important.”

"Well…Okay." Hans’ voice sounded doubtful and sullen from Ludwig’s irritation "Just one thing, Ludwig."

"What?"

"Be careful…"

He hung up. 

 

As he continued to drive, he tried to blink away the tears that were threatening to blur his vision. He could not afford to lose focus. Gilbert, you idiot! Why did you go in that store for? Why? I knew something was wrong about it. He thought angrily. But after a split second, he could feel a single tear trail down his cheek as it all dawned on him.

No, I’m the one who was wrong. I should have taken better care of you. Oh bruder…please be safe. 

Wiping the tear away, he managed to find a parking space. Then, without much ado, he walked quickly to the antique store. It was almost time for it to open, but he could not wait for another second.

"Frau Augustine!" Ludwig shouted, banging on the door "Are you there?!" 

The door quickly opened. Yet it was not Frau Augustine who was on the other side. 

Gilbert stood there, looking at the German blankly. But his red eyes were filled with the utmost sorrow. He was dressed in a Prussian uniform. 

"Kann ich ihnen helfen?" Gilbert asked mechanically. 

"Gilbert…" Ludwig sighed in relief, "Are you okay? We’ll take you home now."

The Prussian opened his mouth as if to respond, yet no words came out. But after a second, in the same mechanical tone, he asked “…Would you like to purchase anything?”

Ludwig frowned, knowing that something was not quite right. “No, I don’t want to buy anything. Gilbert, I’m here to take you home. Please, get changed and come with me.” 

But Gilbert continued to look sad “No…” He sighed “I-I can’t.”

"What do you mean you can’t?!" Ludwig demanded. He grabbed his hand "I’ll help you, come on." But as he did so, the door quickly slammed shut.

Frau Augustine walked down the stairs with a smile. “Do you really think that you can get away so easily? After all the things I’ve said?”

Sadly, Gilbert spun around and walked towards her, his feet shuffling against the floor. 

"That’s right, come to me, mein schatz." She said, beckoning the man to come closer. Once he had reached her, she kissed him directly on the mouth. Ludwig watched in disgust as she caressed his hair the same way that he did to the Prussian. "You pretty thing. Now we’ll bring you straight back to where you need to go." With a wave, one of the old carpets shifted aside, revealing a trapdoor underneath. The door opened and the old woman descended, Gilbert following her meekly. He did not have much of a choice as her hand clenched tightly around his wrist.

Ludwig quickly chased after her, yet in the basement; the corridor seemed to stretch further. He saw Gilbert getting further and further away with the old lady. 

Puffing, he finally reached the end of the hall. 

"No!" He cried as the old woman pushed him into a cage, locking him inside. "You can’t do that!" He shouted, "You can’t! Let him out, or I’ll call the police!"

Frau Augustine threw her head back to cackle manically “You really think the police have a chance against me?! It should become obvious by now.” She pushed a hand forward against the air, knocking the German down. Ludwig got up from the hard floor, bewildered. 

"What the hell do you want?!" He shouted angrily. "Tell me!"

"It’s really quite simple actually. I want your brother." The old woman said, "Well, actually I want his hand in marriage. He’s mine now…and if I can’t marry him, he’ll still be in my possession! Just like the porcelain Prussian antiques in the store."

"You’re sick." Ludwig spat "And I’m not letting you do this to him. I’m going to stay here until you release him."

The old woman gave another cackle, her eyes lighting up once more “You’re the one who’s sick.” She accused “You stole what was mine away from me. And anyway…You’re brothers. You aren’t even allowed to be together.”

Ludwig’s eyes widened, anxious that she had discovered a secret that the brothers had protected for so long. “How..How did you-?”

"How did I know?" She finished in amusement "I know many things, Herr Beilschmidt. Being alive for so many years has made me very wise. And I’ll be alive for many more years to come because you can’t destroy me."

The German frowned, yet he stayed put, determined to put an end to her scheme. “You may be more powerful than I, but I will not give up to your wickedness.” 

Frau Augustine smiled and walked closer to the blond “You seem to be very stubborn. More stubborn than your brother. But I guess if you really love him so much, I can’t separate you two.” She grabbed his jaw and stared straight into his eyes “…I must say, you don’t look too bad either. And since you don’t want to leave…why don’t I just trap you two under my possession? At least then you can be together. We’ll all be happy.” She dug her nail into his skin, causing him to flinch slightly. But he refused to draw away. He did not want to show any sign of weakness while he was under her power. The old woman gave a wrinkly grin before finally releasing him. 

She paced around the room, thinking furiously about her scheme “…Now that I think of it, you two are so close…Just like a pair of siblings from a story I read once.” She looked up at Ludwig “I wonder if you know of it, Herr Beilschmidt. It’s called Hansel and Gretel. They always stuck by one another, despite all circumstances. But that story was so boring. There was just something missing about it, you know? They didn’t have any real ghastly secrets between them, didn’t they?” 

"What is your point?" Ludwig asked, clearly getting irritated. 

"Well…You two seem to have one. It makes the story more exciting."

"What story?!" Ludwig demanded, clenching his fists "What on earth are you going on about?"

"Your story, of course." She laughed again. But this time a cacophony of loud shrills filled the air, piercing Ludwig’s ears. He clutched his ears in pain, anxious that his eardrums were going to rupture with such an awful sound "What better way to keep you two under my possession, if I were to keep you in a book? I can watch over you as long as I want and you’ll never escape from me. So…Let’s add another volume to the Beilschmidt history." 

As she said this, she waved a hand dramatically. A book miraculously appeared in her hand, the pages flipping straight to the centre. To Ludwig’s confusion, they were all blank. 

"So, you’re going to write a book about us." Ludwig said. 

"No…you are going to write a book about yourselves. If you dare go near that cage, you’ll land in the book. It will be your doing. Not mine. So, if you really want to see the daylight again, you must never approach Gilbert again.” With that, she placed the book on the centre of the room, between the cage and Ludwig. 

"Now, I’m going upstairs. In five minutes, Gilbert must get ready for the customers. I’ve left the trapdoor open if you want to leave, Herr Beilschmidt. The choice is yours. Well then, see you later…That is, if you ever decide to submit yourself to my power." The old woman explained. She turned around and climbed out of the basement, leaving Ludwig and Gilbert alone. 

The German turned to face the cage. His heart thumped as he watched the Prussian sit on the bed miserably, still wearing the uniform.

"Gilbert..?" Ludwig asked, his voice high with worry. "Are you okay?" 

The albino stood up and walked as close to the bars as he could “Well, I’m not dead.” Gilbert sighed “But I had no idea that she would do this to me. I’m so sorry, Ludwig. I didn’t know that things would turn out this way.” 

"You can come with me." The German said simply, knowing that it was much too difficult now. "Take off that uniform. It’s probably causing you to do things against your will." 

"But even if I do that, I still can’t escape from this cage." Gilbert said hopelessly. "Come on, bruder. You know that it’s too difficult to get out of this situation. One of us will lose somehow." 

Ludwig looked down at the open book on the floor “Not if we both go down together…”

"No…" Gilbert gasped, realising exactly what the blond had in mind "I’m not letting you get involved in her mess as well. It’s bad enough that she is obsessed over me. I don’t want you to become a subject as well." 

"But I can’t leave you here!" Ludwig shouted. Hot tears fell from his eyes as he said this. They had already been separated before and Ludwig had vowed to never allow such a thing to happen again "How can I just walk out into the world and leave you down here with this creep?"

The Prussian gave a small smile, trying to hide his own sadness. Watching the German cry like this was like a stab in the heart. He wanted to walk over and embrace him, but there was no way out of the cage. 

"Don’t you dare cry." Gilbert said firmly, taking on his older brother role. Ludwig looked up, astonished by the other’s seriousness "You’re strong. You’re brave. You’re intelligent. And I know that you’ll have a much happier life without me around. At least then, I won’t bother you." 

"Shut up!" Ludwig shouted, "You’re talking nonsense. You know that? So you dummkopf, don’t you dare give up on me so easily. I..I’m not as strong as you, or as brave. And if I were so intelligent, I wouldn’t leave you here to fend for yourself. I love you, you idiot. Now let me get you out of here. " 

The Prussian fell to the floor, sobbing under his fringe so Ludwig could not see him cry. He was controlling himself so well until those sincere words had came out of his brother’s mouth. His body shook so much as he wept that Ludwig could no longer stand by and let him cry. He walked over to the cage, kicking the book aside. Reaching his hands in the bars, he ran his fingers through the Prussian’s hair. “West…West, you aren’t meant to be here. You’re going to get into trouble too.” He protested, but Ludwig shook his head definitely. 

"No. I don’t care." He replied firmly. "If I get trapped, at least I’ll get trapped with you." 

Gilbert looked up to stare into the younger man’s eyes, his own also filled with tears. “…I love you too, Ludwig.” He whispered, clasping the German’s hands. “And it is because of my great love for you that Frau Augustine does not want us to be together. She’s mad.” He kissed both hands, resting his face against them. Don’t stay here. You’ll get hurt too.”

"But you don’t want me to leave you, do you?" Ludwig asked, "You want to protect me. And I want to protect you. So I am willing to accept whatever the consequences." 

"Oh, Ludwig..Why do you have to be so stubborn?" The Prussian sighed. He still clung onto the German’s hands, confirming the other’s words that he did not want him to leave.

"Give me your hands." Ludwig said firmly. 

The Prussian obeyed and reached through the bars. Ludwig planted a gentle kiss on the both of them, just as the albino had done. He nestled against them, treasuring the feel of his brother’s skin once more. By leaving him, he not know if he could ever experience such a feeling like that again. 

"I’ll be by your side, Gilbert. Just as you have for me. We will fight her together." 

Just as Gilbert began to open his mouth to agree, Frau Augustine was in the basement again, clapping hysterically.

"Aw! Aw! How adorable. I leave you two alone for a few minutes and you’re already romancing together. It’ll be nice to see this continue in the book as well." She walked over to the book and held it in front of the two. "Your time is up now. Herr Beilschmidt. You have now accepted to be my subject. Goodbye, Ludwig and Gilbert. Or should I say Hansel and Gretel? And good luck in the fantasy world. You will need it, I’m sure." 

A great gust of wind blew through Ludwig’s hair as he could feel himself moving forward towards the book. He clung to Gilbert’s hands tightly, willing to accept his fate. 

She brought her hands together, causing the bars to fall from the cage one by one. Gilbert began to shift forward too, straight towards the book. They gazed at each other’s eyes for reassurance, yet both could see that they were too anxious to feel the slightest bit calm. The book began to grow larger before them as the pages became thicker and thicker, stretching out to wrap the two brothers. At first the pages clung to them tightly, yet with every tense second, they grew thinner until there was nothing around them to break their fall.

The two continued to fall down through a coarse and mysterious shaft. Ludwig gazed up quickly to see the basement, yet there was merely a flicker of light from a small opening, the size of a pencil tip. When both felt as if they were never going to stop falling, there was a loud slam above them before everything became dark. 

At that instant, they crashed straight into the grass beneath them. Ludwig got up first. It was still dark, but the rush of cold air around them was reminiscent to the outdoors. Gilbert still lay on the ground, unconscious.

"Gilbert…Are you okay?" Ludwig asked, holding his brother’s face in his hands. "Wake up, Gilbert."

The Prussian slowly opened his eyes to peer at the German. “I’m fine…” He whispered, smiling slightly as he gazed into the azure eyes of his lover. Everything else seemed so unimportant, now that there was no longer a barrier between the two. For the moment, he ignored the unknown landscape that surrounded them. “We’re alive and we’re okay…” He said, leaning in close to kiss Ludwig. Even though his words sounded so confident, Ludwig could feel the other’s lips tremble. 

"You’re alive, but you’re not okay." A wicked voice sneered from above. "Remember, you’re a part of a book now. And you’ll never get out, unless you defeat me. But how can you? Neither of you have the power!" Frau Augustine cackled excitedly. The two turned around frantically to look for where the voice was coming from, yet they could not see the speaker at all. 

"You’re looking in the wrong place. I’m not a part of the book. At least, not yet. I’ll come, you’ll see. Yet in the meantime, you’ll need to find a way to get past all the other obstacles that lay in your path. Auf Wiedersehen und Viel Spaß…"

At those final words, there was a great boom of thunder in the distance. A few bolts of lightening shot down towards the brothers. Thinking quickly, Ludwig grabbed his brother’s hand and began to run.

"Where are we going?" Gilbert asked in confusion.

"Well we’re not going to stay here! It might rain. We need to find some shelter." Ludwig responded urgently. “Come on!”

Gilbert hastened his pace, trying to ignore the pain throughout his body. Just as they continued to run, Gilbert felt a stabbing ache rip through his stomach. He gasped, clutching his belly.

Ludwig slowed down, alarmed at the Prussian’s reaction. “What’s wrong?! Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.” Gilbert lied, biting his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain. The last thing he needed was to worry his brother even more.

But Ludwig read right through his expression “No you’re not.” He said angrily, grabbing his brother’s waist. “Come on!” Against Gilbert’s wishes, the German had hoisted him up, carrying him over his shoulder. Struggling slightly under his weight, he continued to run.

They continued their frantic journey in the dark, until Ludwig spotted a small cave that was just half-hidden behind a great forest of pine trees. Looking around to make sure that there was no one else around, he brought Gilbert into the cave. Taking off his coat to make some sort of blanket, he laid the older albino down using his hat as a pillow.

Gilbert opened a red eye, looking guilty. “Ludwig…I”

“Shut up.” Ludwig responded, still cross at the Prussian’s dishonesty. “You were hurt and you didn’t even say anything about it. Do you know how worried I am now?! We should be taking you into a hospital already, not in some damn book.” He buried his face in his hands “I should have tried to pick the lock of the cage while I still had the chance.” He said miserably.

A pale hand reached out to grip his wrist. Ludwig dropped his hand, feeling bad for shouting so much. He couldn’t help but to shift all of the responsibility of their ordeal onto him. “Es tut mir leid, bruder.” The German apologised “I’m just worried. I don’t know what we can do.”

“It’s not your fault.” Gilbert replied softly “Frau Augustine is to blame for all of this. We’ll get out of here somehow.”

“I hope so..” Ludwig said. He looked back at the Prussian worriedly. “Are you still hurt?”

“Ein bißchen.” Came the reply. Gilbert clutched a hand to his stomach as the pain returned.

“Put your hand down.” Ludwig ordered. Gilbert obeyed and the German immediately removed his shirt. He ran his hand over his stomach gently, prodding it slightly. “Does that hurt?” He asked.

Gilbert winced “Yes.”

He continued to run his hand over the other’s stomach in circular motions. To the Prussian’s relief, the pain slowly ebbed away. Closing his eyes, he could still feel the other’s strong hands over him.

“Besser?”

“Ja.” Gilbert opened his eyes. “Danke.” He smiled a little bit and moved aside on the jacket. “Come and lie next to me.” He offered, patting the space beside him. With such a sweet smile, Ludwig found it hard to refuse, but he turned back to the entrance of the cave, realising that there was probably something dangerous out there. He had to keep his wits about him. It was difficult to predict what Frau Augustine had planned for them. 

“No, I need to keep guard.” Ludwig replied, “You get some sleep. I’ll be okay.”

Gilbert looked disappointed, but he understood. Within a few minutes, he fell asleep, exhausted from the events that had occurred so quickly. Ludwig would occasionally look back to check up on him, yet Gilbert seemed to be sleeping soundly without too much pain. He turned his attention back to the entrance.

It had stopped raining. From the distance, he could hear a quiet shuffling. He jolted at the sudden sound. It gradually became louder and more menacing with every moment. A few dark figures emerged from the forest, and to Ludwig’s fear, they were coming closer.

“Gilbert.” Ludwig nudged his brother “Someone’s coming…”

The Prussian opened his eyes slightly, still sleepy. He turned around to go back to sleep.

“Wake up!” Ludwig shouted, shaking the albino “There really is someone coming!”

As soon as he said this, the figures were getting closer. Standing directly in the cave entrance, were a couple of wolves. They bared their teeth as soon as they spotted the intruders, growling.

“We need to leave now!” Ludwig shrieked. He hoisted the Prussian over his shoulder, grabbing their coats “Wake up!”

Gilbert finally obeyed and was beginning to move quicker. But as they tried to leave the cave, the wolves did not seem to allow the men to escape so easily. Thinking quickly, Ludwig picked up a rock and threw it to the side. The wolves spun around to the direct of the rock and began to chase after it, distracted from the two men. Seizing the opportunity, they scampered out.

Yet they were not even out of the forest when the wolves had found them again. They were angrier now, knowing that they had been deceived. They backed away from their enemies, Ludwig standing in front of Gilbert to protect him.

“We’re just looking for a place to stay.” He explained nervously, despite knowing that the wolves could not understand their intentions “We mean no harm.”

A dark grey wolf at the front of the pack, with bright red eyes growled louder. It must have been the leader, for the rest of them began to follow suit, their dark eyes lighting up in malice.

“Run!” Ludwig barked. They both began to sprint, but Ludwig was immediately dragged back. Several claws dug into his chest and he cried out as he was pulled away. He struggled to fight off the predators, yet he was no match for all the ferocious beasts, who were multiplying by the minute.

“Ludwig!” Gilbert screamed, running back to pull him away. But the leader wolf was quick to block the other brother. The rest of the wolves tore at his clothes, clawing him violently, even biting his body. Ludwig kicked them away, using all of his strength to at least fend them off.

Finally, after he was sure that he was done for, the wolves left him as he bled on the ground. The Prussian was quick to apply pressure to the wounds, avoiding the younger man from losing too much blood. With great difficulty, they walked out of the woods, Gilbert allowing the German to lean on him for support. Ludwig groaned in pain as they took another painful step.

“Hang on, West.” Gilbert soothed him “We need to get you to a stream.” To his relief, there was a small lake nearby, just beneath a few trees.

The Prussian tore his sleeves off, not even caring about how expensive or rare his shirt was. Right now, Ludwig was his main priority. He dipped the fabric into the water and placed it to the wounds. Ludwig gasped at the pain, but remained still as Gilbert began to dress them. But just when he thought that all had been attended to; the older man noticed a painful gash just on his right eyebrow.

“Wait a minute.” Gilbert warned. He took the last piece of the material to clean the wound. Ludwig blushed as he realised how close the other was sitting. He was so tempted to kiss him, yet in the middle of such an ordeal; it was too difficult to share an intimate moment. The Prussian touched the other’s cheek, giving him another sweet smile. “It looks like we’re back out on the battlefield, doesn’t it?”

Ludwig nodded, still disappointed that he couldn’t do anything more. But Gilbert read his expression straight away and leaned in close to give him a quick kiss on the mouth. It wasn’t much, but Ludwig had treasured it, knowing that they had survived together.

“Do you feel better?”

“Ja…” Ludwig answered quietly, relaxed by the kiss. He took Gilbert’s hand slowly, so thankful that his brother was still beside him, “Thank you.”

“Thank me when we’re out of this place.” Gilbert said with a small smile. He patted him on the cheek. “We should probably stay here. At least we are away from the wolves.”

“No way!” Ludwig said sternly “It’s still too dangerous outdoors. We must find some proper shelter.”

“But you’re hurt!” Gilbert pointed out “We can’t just let you go around while you’re in so much pain. We’ll stay here for the night and continue looking tomorrow.”

Too tired to argue, Ludwig nodded. He understood that his brother’s plan was pretty wise. As it became darker and everything had grown still, they both fell asleep by the lake. They clung to each other tightly as they slept so that neither would be separated in the night.

 

It was still rather dark the next day. Ludwig had woken up first, Gilbert a short while later. Hunger pains caused the brothers to clutch at their stomachs.

“We can’t stay here.” Ludwig said anxiously “I’m famished.”

“Me too.” Gilbert agreed. The two quickly put on their coats and made their way from the trees. But they had not gotten very far when Ludwig felt himself being pulled back suddenly.

“Ah!” He shouted.

The Prussian spun around. A vine had wrapped around his brother’s ankles, yet more were quickly spreading towards his waist as well, holding him tightly. Ludwig struggled to pull off the vines, yet they fastened around him with greater strength. Gilbert tugged at the vines, but they were much too strong for him. He panicked as sweat dripped from his forehead. He looked around for something to cut the bind, but he could not see anything in sight.

“Gilbert! I can’t breathe!”

“Hold still Ludwig!” Gilbert shouted, moving towards him. He bit at the vines with as much strength as he could muster. His teeth had penetrated into the vines, yet it did minimal effect to the grip. He touched the German’s face, trying to calm him. Back when Ludwig was younger and frightened from a nightmare, this action would usually bring him out of his fear.

“Shh..Ludwig..I will find something to get you out. Just hold on.”

But Ludwig was far too pale with terror to remain calm. He gazed into Gilbert’s eyes, the scarlet pools giving him some relief. “Bruder…If anything happens-“

“Nothing will happen! Please, try and stay calm. There will be a way out.” The Prussian shouted. He got on his knees to find a rock, or just any sort of sharp object to free his brother.

To his relief, his fingers almost grazed against a reasonably small but sharp rock that was jutting out from beneath the dirt. Quickly, he drew it out and severed it against the vines.

Ludwig tumbled to the ground immediately, the vines finally broken. He scrambled to his feet, flustered but amazed by his brother’s rescuing abilities.

“Thank you…for saving me again.”

Gilbert embraced him tightly. “We are still not out of the woods yet. We must find shelter and some assistance.”

Now that they were out of the forest, there was a clear path. Somewhere nearby, there must have been civilisation.

They walked down the lane until they had spotted a cottage. It was a small one, yet neither brother hesitated to enter the vicinity. But given the previous situation with the wolves, Ludwig decided to knock the door, rather than walking in uninvited.

After a while, the door had opened. Yet this was not some sinister figure that was waiting for them from the other side. A young woman with dark blonde hair smiled at the two men.

“Hallo…”

Ludwig turned awkwardly at his brother, too awkward to speak to her.

“Hallo, Fräulein. Sorry for the intrusion.” Gilbert greeted, giving one of his characteristic smiles that was known to make women swoon “My brother is injured. We need somewhere to stay and some food and water. If you could be so kind to direct us to the nearest inn-“

“Oh there is no need!” The girl said quickly. “There isn’t anything else for miles. You two can come and stay here if you desire.” She gave a smile at the German who turned scarlet straight away. “He’s a shy one, your brother.” She observed.

“Haha, he really is.” Gilbert chuckled, giving a gentle nudge at Ludwig “Don’t worry, we’re not going to stay long. We just want something to eat before we leave this place.”

“What do you mean?” The girl asked. She seemed to look baffled as she noticed the modern clothing that each man was wearing.

“As you can tell, we’re not from this century.” Gilbert explained “…Ja, I know it sounds strange but we’ve been bewitched.”

The girl’s pale eyes widened, nevertheless, she understood the concept. “Oh, that’s awful.” She said. But it was still hard for her to accept the fact that they were not from this world. “Come and eat, now. We’ll discuss it later.”

To their disappointment, there were just stale slices of bread and milk to eat. The woman looked guilty with the small meal she had available to such large men. They ate anyway. But after a while, the two began to feel dizzy. Gilbert recognised the feeling straightaway and pointed at the girl accusingly.

“You’re a witch too?! Aren’t you?” Gilbert shouted, holding his head. Ludwig looked horrified as he dropped the slice that he was eating.

“Gilbert..I feel..”

“I know, Ludwig, I know.” Gilbert said, “This girl over here is nothing more than a witch, just like Frau Augustine!”

At first the girl looked horrified. But rather than yelling back, she began to cry, mainly out of guilt. “I’m so, so sorry.” She sobbed, her hair falling over her face “I was only following orders by some old lady.” As she said this, she reached into her pocket and took out a sack of coins, throwing it on the table for Gilbert to see “She paid me to do this. I had no choice. I needed the money.”

“Where did she go?” Gilbert asked.

“I have no idea.” The girl said miserably. “I’ve been struggling to make ends meet here at home, especially since my sister had gone missing.”

Ludwig’s curiousity was peaked immediately “Your sister?” He asked “Are you sure she wasn’t taken away?”

The girl shrugged “How should I know? She just went out one day and never came back. This old lady just came in before and told me to add some sedative to the food so you two would sleep. She said that if I followed, I would not only get money, but she would also help find my sister. I did not have a choice. I couldn’t argue back, otherwise she wouldn’t help.”

Ludwig groaned as he felt his head spin. He struggled to refocus his vision on the girl, but everything was becoming blurry.

“Well, we need to leave this place.” Gilbert said firmly “I still don’t trust you.” With that, he grabbed the blond’s arm and marched out before she could stop them.

“No! Don’t go!” The girl cried out “She’s-“

But as soon as Gilbert had opened the door, a force of wind pulled them back. It was far too strong for any of them to handle.

Both brothers fell to the floor, much too weak and light-headed to fight against it. They lay helplessly as they felt their energy sap away from them in a cruel, quick moment.

Everything went black.

Days passed by slowly. The young woman walked around the sleeping men anxiously. Any moment she knew that her sister would come back through the door. She had felt guilty for participating in such a treacherous scheme, but this was perhaps the only chance that she could ever see her sister again. They were strangers after all, and of no real concern of her. She didn’t even really know where they were from, except for the fact that they spoke in a slightly different dialect to her and wore modern outfits. With every slight sound or sign of movement, she would jump suddenly and check the door once again. Hope stirred in her heart, yet it was dashed every time she would set her eyes on an empty doorway.

“Please forgive me.” She said to the unconscious forms of Gilbert and Ludwig in turn. “I had to do what was necessary. But it won’t last for long. You’ll see.” Yet even as she said this, she could not even feel the slightest bit of confidence. She would go and carry out her house chores, the only way to fully distract her from the grave situation she was in. Everything seemed so wrong. She was assisting in someone else’s problems while she was helping herself.

“Oh Ulrike… I hope you’ll forgive me too.” She sighed, thinking of her sister again. She knew that her older sister was far more sensible than herself and would never dream of assisting in something as dangerous as witchcraft. Ulrike was the light in her dark world, the more resourceful and braver one out of the two. “I’m only really doing this for you…”

“Are you talking to yourself again, Gretchen?” A familiar voice giggled.

Gretchen looked up to see that the door had opened. A shaft of sunlight shone through, lighting up the dim cottage. The girl blinked twice, her eyes just making out a tall, willowy figure. She shook her head in disbelief as she noticed the familiar fair hair glimmering in the sunshine. The figure stepped closer into the cottage until finally Gretchen could see her features properly.

“…Ulrike…”

“I told you I would come back, didn’t I?” The other woman said, walking towards her. “And now, we must do something about these two men there.” She said quickly.

“Are we going to release them?” Gretchen asked hopefully.

Cornflower blue eyes blinked in surprise “No…Don’t be silly. We’re going to put them where they belong. They deserved it, after all.”

Gretchen looked horrified “What? I don’t understand. What did they do?”

The other girl placed a hand to her face. “Oh, Gretchen. You are too young to understand. That man over there with the silver hair, he stole my heart. I’m here to make things right.”

“Schwester…” Gretchen called, reaching out to her.

“No!” Ulrike shouted, pulling away. “How could you forgive these strangers? I know them better than you do.” She walked over to Gilbert and began to run a hand over his face. “I really thought that he loved me, you know? But you’ll see, liebe schwester…you’ll see that I can make him love me again.”

“But you don’t even know him!” Gretchen gasped, “These men even told me that they were not from our world.”

“So you believe them?” Ulrike asked, her blue eyes flashing in anger “You would take the word of a pair of strangers than your own sister?” She held the other girl’s head in her hands, staring directly into her eyes “Why?”

“I…” Gretchen was startled “I don’t know…”

“That’s right, Gretchen. You don’t know. You don’t know much about anything. You never did anyway. But I’m here now…I’m here to protect you. You did the right thing.” She planted a kiss on her forehead, causing the other to come to agreement. Gretchen buried her head in the older girl’s chest, weeping.

“I thought that you would have been mad with me…” She mumbled, “I was so scared that I wasn’t going to see you again.”

“Can you please stop crying?” Ulrike asked in irritation. “We need to do something about these two. Get some rope and tie up the blond one over there.”

Gretchen appeared unwilling to do the task. She paused; unsure whether it was really a wise thing to do.

“Gretchen, can you hurry up?” Ulrike ordered impatiently.

The other quickly found some rope and got to work, tying a sleeping Ludwig to one of the chairs. Ludwig stirred a little, yet he showed no signs of waking up.

“Good girl.” Ulrike praised warmly, patting the other on the head. “And now..Let’s see what will happen next…” She drew her hand up, and slowly Gilbert could find his strength coming back.

He opened his eyes and found himself lying on the lap of a woman with long, blond hair and cornflower blue eyes. The Prussian could not believe it. He had seen this face before, from somewhere far away, yet he did not realise that he could see her again. He blinked again to make sure that she was not a figment of his imagination.

“Hallo…” Ulrike greeted, caressing his face softy “You remember me, don’t you?”

Gilbert frowned in confusion. “Um…Have we met? Where…Where am I?”

“You’re in my house.” Came the answer “Surely, you must know who I am.” She reached into her collar to take out an antique Prussian teacup. Bringing the cup to her lips, she drank slowly.

“That’s…” Gilbert began “Isn’t that…that’s my…”

“This?” Ulrike asked, holding the teacup closely so Gilbert could view it properly “Was it yours?”

“Yes…” Gilbert replied, his memories slowly coming back. Now that he thought of it, there was only one place where he had seen someone with such classic Germanic features. “You’re the girl from the teacup, aren’t you?”

Ulrike gave a smile as she drank from the teacup again. It seemed so strange for her to be drinking from something that was empty, but he was more relieved to see her face. She was even lovelier in real life.

“That’s right, Gilbert. You bought me from the antique store. I am yours now.”

“…I…” Gilbert was taken aback. “Du bist so wunderschön.”

Ulrike giggled. “Why thank you…” She replied. Leaning down, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “And that is for saving me.” She added.

Gilbert turned red. “Um… “ He began, remembering that he still needed to escape from the book “Can you help my brother and I escape from here?” He asked.

“What?” Ulrike asked. “Don’t you like it here…don’t you like me?”

“No, no.” Gilbert said quickly “I do like it here. And you’re very nice. But my brother and I need to get home straight away. We’ve been here for too long. She’ll come after us.”

“What is the hurry?” Ulrike asked, placing a hand to his lips “We have all day. Besides, we are only just getting acquainted.”

Gretchen frowned “Wait a second, I thought you said that he-“

“Hush, you silly girl!” Ulrike shouted, glaring at her sister. She turned back to the Prussian. “So…” She began, leaning closer to him “I don’t think I have properly thanked you yet.” The hem of her dirndl slid up slightly and the Prussian’s heart quivered in excitement. He tried to ignore it, but she continued to tease him, running her tongue against her lips.

“Ulrike, I-“

In a swift motion, she pushed him down onto the floor. She climbed over him, kissing him savagely. Gilbert struggled to move away, but the more she stared into his eyes, the more powerless he felt. Her scent was so alluring and sweet, coaxing him to linger with her. He closed his eyes as he had submitted to her, kissing her back with almost as much force. Ulrike giggled in delight, holding him tightly in her arms.

“Mein Schatz…” She whispered, meeting his scarlet lustful gaze “Ich liebe dich.”

Gilbert surrendered to her immediately as he planted kisses on her face and then her neck. No matter what, he could not stop. Every caress, every kiss and every moment in her arms had felt so right. He was unable to explain his passionate feelings for her.

“Stop!”

The Prussian pulled away from her embrace. Ulrike shot a glare at the direction of the voice. Ludwig had awoken.

“It’s a trap!” Ludwig shouted “Bruder, don’t you see? She’s not who you think she is?”

“What are you saying?” Ulrike asked, turning back to Gilbert. She stroked his hair “He has fallen for me. Just as he should have. We are lovers, don’t you know?”

The German shook his head as he heard the familiar, possessive words “No, you have him under your spell.” He realised. He turned to Gretchen “Come on, do you really think that is your sister?”

Gretchen looked perplexed. Now that she had thought of it, the woman in her house seemed so different to Ulrike.

“Ignore the fool!” Ulrike spat “Don’t you get my sister involved in this.” She said threateningly to Ludwig.

Ludwig struggled, still tied up. “Gretchen!” He called, knowing that she was far more sensitive than her sister and easier to convince “She is not your sister. You’re under a spell. We all are. You’re just seeing what you want to see!”

“Meine liebe…” Ulrike cooed, running her lips against the side of his neck “We are destined to be together, don’t you see? We are soul mates. What you feel for me is very strong, isn’t it?”

“Ja…” Gilbert agreed slowly, enjoying her advances. He sighed as she continued to peck him.

“You’re a liar!” Ludwig yelled “Get your hands off my brother!”

“Oh Gilbert…” Ulrike continued, ignoring the blond “We’re together now, just as we should be. Leave your brother. He’s not one of us.”

“Don’t you see?!” Ludwig cried “She’s Frau Augustine!”

At those words, Ulrike growled, clutching onto the Prussian tighter. “Ignore him. He’s just trying to trick you.”

“She’s using you!” Ludwig pointed out “I always said that I’d be by your side, Gilbert. And I’m not letting this old hag change you. Gilbert, I love you!”

The Prussian jolted at the words, recognising his brother’s voice.

“Bruder…”

“He’s tricking you!” Ulrike shouted, grabbing his hand “I would never trick you, my dear. I will treat you just like the wife I was meant to be. Your brother should have perished in the forest, rather than getting involved here.”

Suddenly all the misfortunes that befell them in the forest had made sense.

Gretchen shook her head at the words, realising that the German was right “You’re not my sister!” She gasped.

Ulrike stood up and slapped the girl on the cheek straight away.

“How could you say something so stupid?!”

Gretchen felt her cheek sting with pain, but she blinked away the tears “Ulrike would never do that!” She said.

“Accept the money and shut up!” Ulrike screamed.

As soon as she said this, all Gretchen’s doubts were confirmed. It was the old lady who had paid her to stay quiet about committing the dangerous deeds.

“You’re right.” Gretchen said firmly “You’re right, I am stupid. I’m stupid for believing that you’d help me. So you can take your money!” With that, she opened the sack of coins and flung it towards the wall. But to her horror, they were not coins that had fallen on the floor. Spiders scattered from the sack and onto the floorboards.

Ulrike grabbed the teacup and began to drink from it when Gilbert had pulled it from her fingers. As he did this, the woman’s features immediately transformed. Her hair whitened while her skin began to turn a hideous shade of grey. Blood red pupils stared back at him through irises as black as sin. Familiar wrinkles began to line her face. It was Frau Augustine….but it was not Frau Augustine.

“Well, well…So you figured me out.” The woman replied. But her voice no longer sounded like her own. It was a like a number of evil voices talking together at varying pitches. Gilbert cringed at the terrifying sound. “But I am not Frau Augustine. You see that was the form I had taken on in order to get people into my store. This is my true form.”

The Prussian felt repulsed by her, yet he was unable to take his eyes off her “I had tried so very hard to be a good wife to you. But alas, others had tried to stop me.” She grabbed Gilbert’s jaw, her sharp pupils burning into his brain. “I really thought that I could find you. I searched for you for so long. Even with my witchcraft, I still had trouble. Now after all I have been through, don’t you want to experience what life could have been like? We would have been perfect together. But I just found you far too late. Come on, while we are here together, don’t you want to abandon your mundane modern life? I have so many powers, Gilbert. I can bring you back to the time when the Prussian kingdom was around. I may not be as beautiful as I once was, but if I find the right spell, maybe I could permanently transform myself into a girl as pretty as the one from the teacup.” Her cold, spidery hand clutched his own and she moved her lips down to kiss it. But rather than experiencing her sweet scent, a strange, musty odor was left on his hand. “What do you say, mein schatz? Come with me…Come with me and become my husband. And we can leave everything behind us.”

Mein Schatz

There was that word again. Every time it had slipped from her lips, Gilbert was drawn closer and closer to her. Ludwig inwardly scolded himself as it all dawned on him. This was the word that she had used to manipulate him, to cast her spell.

“Mein Schatz!” Ludwig shouted. In a split second, Gilbert felt as if he had awoken from a long sleep. He struggled to pull from the witch’s embrace. “Mein Schatz!” He said again “You are not hers, you are mine. Do you remember, Gilbert? You are my dear brother. I have protected you, just as you have protected me. We fight together, side by side.”

To the witch’s shock, Gretchen had already untied him. The blond struggled to pull Gilbert towards him “Ich Liebe dich, bruder.”

With those words, Gilbert had felt stronger. He reached out to touch him “Ich liebe dich auch…meine liebe.” 

A current of strength pulsed through his veins. His heart thumped as he finally pushed the old witch aside, knocking her down. But even though such an action would have normally made him feel bad, he knew that she was no ordinary old woman.

“Gilbert…Why?!” The old witch cried.

“I don’t need your world anymore.” Gilbert said firmly. “This is all for you. Not for me. I have moved on. The Prussian kingdom is over. No matter what I do, I cannot bring it back, no matter how much I want to.”

“But I can bring it back, dear.” The witch said “I can do anything for you…”

“Nein!” Gilbert shouted defiantly “I don’t want anything from you! You are not my lover. You have never been my lover.” He was still holding the teacup, yet unlike before, it was no longer so charming. Ever since he had seen it, he was controlled against his will. It was more of a curse, rather than a blessing. “I don’t need this anymore!” He shouted. And with that, he threw the teacup in the air. It smashed into a thousand pieces, much to the witch’s dismay.

“No! No! I will get you for this!” She roared.

But the pieces were slowly gravitating closer to one another with a mind of their own. In a few moments, they threaded together to form a body and then gradually the entire form of a familiar, fair-haired woman.

“Ulrike!” Gretchen cried, running towards her. Ulrike opened her eyes; stunned but so content that her sister was safe. She looked over her hands and body, quickly noticing that the spell had broken.

“Gretchen…” Ulrike called weakly, reaching out to embrace her sister. She looked up to smile at the Prussian. “Thank you…” She said, “You had broken the spell. I thought that I was going to stay as a teacup forever.”

Gilbert was about to return the smile, until the witch had stood up from the floor.

“You traitor!” She yelled, “After all I have done for you! You chose to repay me like this!”

“You brought this on yourself.” Gilbert explained, no longer afraid of her. She seemed so helpless now. “You thought that bewitching more people was going to make me fall for you? I can’t love someone who is so selfish.”

“I was trying to help you!” She shouted back “How could you be so blind?!”

“No.” Gilbert corrected, “You were trying to help yourself. All you are is a sad, old woman who thought that witchcraft and misery would have helped you.”

“Shut up!” The old witch cried. “I’ve heard enough!” She tried to pull away, but it was Gilbert who had grabbed onto her arm.

“Auf Wiedersehen, Großmutter.” Gilbert replied, kissing her on the cheek. As soon as he did this, her eyes widened, grey face contorting into a mix of fear and rage. She began to slowly disintegrate into dust, screaming as her features crumbled.

The dust danced towards the four people, forming into a series of sharp arrows that shot straight towards them, threatening to take them down. In an instant, Ludwig and Gilbert dragged the two girls with them and leapt from the door, out into the sunshine, narrowly dodging the arrows. The arrows stabbed the ground, just inches away from them.

A series of screams continued as the ground shook around them. The cottage had vanished, along with the rest of the forested scenery. The strong sunlight intensified until all they could see was white. They were all sweeping away, up into a shaft that took them closer to the sky. They felt weightless, drifting together like pieces of paper in the wind. But after a few moments, they fell onto a cold, hard floor.

They were back in the basement of the antique store.

 

Everything was slowly coming back to the young girl. “I was…in a book?” She asked in disbelief at her sister. “How long were was I there for?”

Ulrike hugged her for reassurance. “Maybe only a few days.” She said. “But I’m glad that we are safe now.”

“Ja, but now we have to get out of this store.” Ludwig said, interrupting the two. “This room is really not the sort of place you’d want to stay in for long.” He turned to his brother. “Are you coming, Gilbert?”

Gilbert looked down at his ripped uniform forlornly. It was only a moment that he had wanted to experience it properly again. In defiance, he removed his coat, throwing it on the floor, beside the cage.

“I have to move on.” Gilbert said quietly. He stood up followed the others out of the basement and outside the store.

After the two girls had left, Gilbert turned to his brother, his heart thumping. He had never thought that he could love him anymore than he already did, until now.

“You saved me, West.” He said affectionately, squeezing his hand.

Ludwig gave a small smile. Even though they were standing in the street, he did not move away from him. He loved him too much for the opinions of passerby’s to affect his actions. Being in a situation when he had thought that he was going to risk losing him again had only made his heart grow fonder to such advances.

“No, Gilbert.” He replied, his azure eyes meeting the albino’s scarlet ones “You saved all of us.” Heart racing as if he had run a mile, he leaned down to kiss the Prussian on the mouth, a quick but tender kiss.

The Prussian grinned and pulled the German closer, kissing him with even more passion. Ludwig’s lips reciprocated and they embraced tightly, so relieved to be alive and safe together. But just as their kisses were about to get deeper, Ludwig drew away, remembering the onlookers in the street.

“Let’s continue this at home, shall we?” Ludwig asked nervously.

“Anything you say, mein schatz.” Gilbert giggled, holding his hand as they walked to their cars. In the back of his mind, he knew with disappointment that he had to do something about the parking tickets that he had received.

But the words did not anger the German. He turned to gaze at the one that he loved, the brother who had always protected and raised him from such an early age. He was extremely precious to him too. Nobody was more special to him than Gilbert. His only true love. He was still a little shy to kiss him, but the one who knew him best, read his mind immediately.

The Prussian leaned in close to give a final kiss to his true love before they climbed into their respective cars to drive home. It was another evening together, in each other’s arms. Exactly where they had always wanted to be.

As they nestled together between the sheets, that was the most ideal happy ending than any story in a fairytale. And both brothers had cherished every moment.

**Author's Note:**

> Translation key:
> 
> Gott verdammt: God damn it
> 
> Nein: No
> 
> Ja: Yes
> 
> Antiquitäten: Antiques
> 
> Bitte: Please
> 
> Enschuldigung: Excuse me/sorry (in this context it would be used as sorry).
> 
> Guten Abend: Good evening
> 
> Meine Herren: My gentlemen
> 
> Kann ich Ihnen Helfen?: Can I help you?
> 
> Ich schaue mich nur um: I’m just looking around
> 
> Das ist mir zu Teuer: That is too expensive
> 
> Tschüß: Bye
> 
> Es ist schön: It is beautiful
> 
> Danke: Thanks
> 
> Fräulein:Usually a formal way to address a young woman, although this way of address is less common in recent years.
> 
> Mein gott: My god
> 
> Scheiße: An expletive (I’m sure you can guess what that means ;))
> 
> Liebe Bruder: Dear brother
> 
> Grüße: Regards (when writing a letter)
> 
> Liebe ist für alle da: Love is there for everyone- This is the actual title of a Rammstein album. One of my headcannons are that Germany and Prussia are both huge fans of German metal, particularly this band.
> 
> Guten Morgen: Good morning
> 
> Auf Wiedersehen: Goodbye
> 
> Preußen: Prussia
> 
> Herr: Mr
> 
> Vielen dank: Thank you very much
> 
> Großmutter: Grandmother
> 
> Danke Schön: Thank you
> 
> Dummkopf: A derogatory term usually meaning a silly person
> 
> Mach die Tür auf!: Open the door!
> 
> Sofort!: Right away!
> 
> Schwein: Pig
> 
> Mein lieber Preußischen: My dear Prussian
> 
> Mein Schatz: My precious. This is the title of the story and the main concept behind the narrative. Frau Augustine views Prussia as not only a lover but a possession of hers, especially as his classic features appear more like a precious antique in her eyes. It is this attraction, which eventually leads to a mad obsession to destroy Germany and to claim Prussia as her own. The story demonstrates a disastrous turn of events from the measures that a woman would take on the grounds of her possessive love. You also may have noticed that she holds a similar attraction to the young woman, Ulrike, and transforms her into a teacup to keep her. But unlike her love with Prussia, this is more to do with jealousy as she longs to look youthful again.
> 
> I didn’t realise until later on that this title is the same as a song by one of my favourite German bands, Oomph! But unlike this story, the song’s lyrics are related to Lord of The Rings.
> 
> Viel Spaß: Have fun
> 
> Es tut mir leid: I am very sorry (from the bottom of my heart)
> 
> Ein bißchen: A little bit
> 
> Besser?: Better?
> 
> Hallo: Hello
> 
> Schwester: Sister
> 
> Du bist so wunderschön: You are so beautiful
> 
> Ich liebe dich: I love you
> 
> Meine liebe: My love
> 
> Ich liebe dich auch: I love you too


End file.
